This week, our readings focus on the concept of medical pluralism and the dynamic between alternative healing systems and “regular medicine” (what will eventually become “biomedicine”). While you read about some of the “founders” and approaches / values of these systems, take careful note of which communities and populations are draw to the systems, and what ways that they are “resisting” the establishment, medical or otherwise.
I also urge you to think about what’s missing from these conversations, right off the bat. While Baer does a succinct job in bringing attention to the issues of race, ethnicity, and gender in alternative healing systems in subsequent chapters, I find that both chapters this week are inattentive to the voices, contributions and participation of people of color in these early heterodox systems. Baer notes that many of the founders of natural healing modalities took knowledge gained from “herb doctors” (14), Native American systems (16), and local healers — I’m curious about who these folks were and how this plays into conversations of intellectual property, appropriation, etc. Whorton doesn’t seem to engage in these questions at all.
Group Discussions:
The groups should be close to solidifying. If you haven’t already, start to reach out to your group members and schedule your first discussion to cover the readings for Week 1 and Week 2.
If your group has less than three (3) people, I’ve un-enrolled you and asked that you join another group. The groups do not have a maximum number of people required, but I do find that at least three in a group is helpful in terms of diversity of ideas and division of work.
Remember, these groups can meet virtually through a video conferencing platform (via Google Hangouts, Skype, Zoom, etc) — just make sure you note the platform you use (or physical location if you meet in-person) in your Discussion Notes.
Discussion Group Notes #1 is due on Sunday, Jan 26th via iCollege group assignments. For details about the assignment, make sure you’ve read over all of the documents linked here.
Reflection Journals:
This week you’ll start your Reflection Journal via EduBlog. For details on getting started, check out the Learning Journal Assignment tab, and feel free to comment with any questions you might have.
By the end of this week (January 26th), I expect you to have:
- created your EduBlog site,
- connected it to “My Class”,
- written your first reflection journal entry,
- and commented on two peer reflections.
For those of you interested in a basic introduction to EduBlogs / WordPress, take a look at this video, Getting started with EduBlogs.
EduBlogs also has a number of helpful User Guides
Reading Prompts
“Nineteenth-Century American Medicine as a Pluralistic System”, Hans A. Baer, (7-30)
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- Baer uses religious language throughout the chapter to describe the dynamic between regular /bio-medicine and CAM (heterodox, heresy, convert) – why does he do this?
- What is the relationship between these healing methods and 19th cent. white American Protestantism? What do you know about this religious background and its values / worldview?
- According to Baer, why are the heterodox healing systems so popular in the 19th century? What are the social contexts and cultural values that makes medical pluralism so appealing? What are these communities resisting?
- What does the medical pluralism of the 19th century tell you about CAM today, if anything?
“The Hippocratic Heresy: Alternative Medicine’s Worldview,” James C. Whorton (3-24)
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- How does the cartoon described in the opening paragraphs of Whorton’s chapter illustrate the core philosophies and values of alternative healing practices, in opposition to “regular” / biomedicine?
- What approaches and prescriptions were utilized by heroic medical practitioners? Why was it called “heroic” medicine?
- What are some of the ways in which “natural healing” differentiates itself from and critqiues “regular medicine”?
- On page 11, Whorton describes CAM’s early relationship with “Alternative Science” — how do you think this approach might manifest in later iterations of holistic health?
- As a historian, how does Whorton approach the question of “efficacy” and whether the healing “works”? How do you think this relates to our approach as Religious Studies scholars?
Vocabulary:
- Medical pluralism
- Heroic medicine
- Calomel
- Vitalism
- Allopathy
- Mesmerism
- Spiritualism
- Mind Cure
- Bourgeois, petit-bourgeois
- Empiricism
- Scientific pathology
- Holistic
